The first ever plane to get off the ground with no moving parts has successfully completed flight tests.

Researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology completed a series of ten 60-metre flights across a gymnasium in MIT’s duPont Athletic Center in November.

Lead researcher, Associate Professor Steven Barrett, told Reuters the light aircraft’s design was inspired by his childhood love of Star Trek, namely the show’s futuristic shuttlecrafts which had no moving parts and travelled in silence.

The plane is powered by ionic wind, a flow of ions produced on-board the plane which generates sufficient thrust to propel the plane.